easyJet Doubles Number of New Entrant Female Pilots Following Surge in Applications to its Amy Johnson Flying Initiative

In October 2015 easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, launched its Amy Johnson Flying Initiative with the aim of increasing the number of female new entrant pilots.

Worldwide only 5% of commercial airline pilots are female and only 450 of them have achieved the rank of captain – which means every female commercial airline captain could fit onto an A380 aircraft. In 2015, at easyJet women made up just 6% of easyJet’s new pilot intake and 5% overall, so the airline set a target of doubling the number of female pilots in two years.

At the halfway point through the 2016 recruitment campaign, easyJet achieved the target of doubling the intake to 12%. These women are now assigned to courses due to start in the coming weeks.

Applications from budding female pilots increased by more than 20% and the campaign has also resulted in more than 600 females applying for the Amy Johnson easyJet Future Flyers Initiative.

In commemoration of this milestone, easyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall today unveiled an aircraft named after renowned female aviator Amy Johnson. The aircraft will fly across the entire easyJet network to generate awareness of the initiative.